Samantha is at the centre of one of the country’s biggest missing person hunts, months after a messy break-up

No one seems to know what has happened to the happy-go-lucky girl who made time for everyone.

Yesterday afternoon, 34-year-old John was still appealing for help, despite his messy break-up with Samantha earlier this year which led her to try to sell her unworn wedding dress online for £400 just a few weeks ago.

One friend said last night: “This is completely unlike Sam. She has ­loving friends and family, and was particularly close to her mum.

“She’s happy, adores her job and there were no money worries or enemies. She was single and had no reason to flee. Nothing about this makes any sense.”

Samantha was last seen by colleagues on Friday morning after clocking off from the Royal Stoke University Hospital

Samantha vanished after finishing a night shift at nearby Royal Stoke University Hospital at 7.45am on July 27 and driving home.

She failed to arrive for her next night shift the same evening, prompting colleagues to call the police, as the no-show was so unlike her.

After a false sighting at a nearby station, detectives began a painstaking investigation into her life and the months leading to her disappearance.

Samantha’s planned wedding to John in June never happened. The couple, who are believed to have met after she attended Keele University, ended the relationship suddenly at the start of the year. But Instead of dwelling on the break-up, Samantha kept busy — putting the dress up for sale and doing a charity skydive.

Samantha took part in a charity skydive to take her mind off the break-up

But the split brought an end to a romance so intimate that John’s mum Lynn still refers to Samantha as a “daughter-in-law” on social media.

Yesterday, as police visited the home of John’s sister Katie and her husband Mike, both 32, in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, next-door neighbour Doreen Nixon, 82, said: “Katie and Michael are really nice people. They went on holiday on Friday.

“But 20 minutes after they left, the police arrived. I last saw Samantha here about a year ago.”

Mike’s Facebook profile carried many pictures of Samantha until ­mid-afternoon yesterday, when it was abruptly taken down.

No one seems to know what has happened to the happy-go-lucky girl who made time for everyone

Meanwhile, the investigation has produced several conflicting theories that have led police to declare “nothing is off the table” in the hunt.

So far it seems unlikely Samantha could have harmed herself, as she was in good spirits leaving work and had no known problems.

But police are checking a report that screaming was heard from inside her home at 2pm on the day she disappeared. None of her possessions — not even her bank cards — were taken from the house and it appeared to be undisturbed.

Detectives have refused to reveal what has happened to Samantha’s phone or whether she still has it.

Samantha Eastwood leaving the hospital in her Volvo car in one of her last confirmed sightings

Samantha’s social media presence is full of images of her enjoying herself with pals, and colleagues old and new said she was an ­outstanding professional and friend.

Old schoolmate Zoe Hanrahan, 28, has been among thousands sharing the appeal for information on Facebook. She said: “Samantha was so kind, compassionate and caring. She never had any ­problems and always just cracked on with things. She was ideal nurse material.”

“She has worked as a midwife at Royal Stoke for six years and not turning up to work on Friday evening was very much out of character for her.”

Detective superintendent Simon Duffy of Staffordshire Police said this week: “The investigation is still being treated as a high-risk missing person case but as time goes on we are increasingly concerned about her welfare, as are her family.

“This is totally out of character for Samantha. As far as we know she lived alone, with no children.